Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1887-06-04


I CHANGED to pass an evening recently
with some theatrical people, writes Arlo
Bates. in the Providence Journal, and
two of the stories which I heard I re-
member well enough to set down:
An opera company was playing in
Montreal a summer or two since under
the direction of Miss Janet Edmond
son. The masculine singers were soon
found to be indulging In far too free a
use of ardent spirits, their chief excuse
seeming to be that whisky was so cheap
in that city of churches. One Saturday
afternoon when the audience was as
sembling to hear the Mascot, !" it was
discovered that the tenor was in q state
of glorious muddlehood He came
from his dressing-room strangely
arrayed in costume made up of mix
ture of garments of the part he was to
play, and designed for the Chimes Of
Normandy" The understudy was told
to go at once and dress, when he was
called back by the tenor, who said to
him with drunken impressiveness:
"Be careful the Chimes costume
doesn't get the better of you. It did Of
me-"
The understudy hurried of to the
dressing-room, when the first come.
dian, who was to play Rocco, came upon
the stage quite as tipsy as the tenor,
but assuming, to hide his condition, q
preternatural gravity.
what, he said impressively, coming
forward to his companion in dissipation,
with whom he had passed the morning
drinking, "no performance? lis it past
the time? Why is this?"
"Hist!" returned the other, leaning
towards him in q shaken attitude OF
confidence, don't give it away. The
tenor is drunk"
"Ha!" retorted the questioner, put
ting out his hand in tragic manner.
Shake! So is the comede!"
This second dereliction, there being
no understudy for the part of Rocco,
demoralized the company, and the audi.
ence was dismissed on the plea that it
was found necessary to have an extra
rehearsal for a new piece which was to
be brought out on Monday evening.
In another English opera company,
formed for the summer months, it was
found that the tenors were too light TO,
the rest of the chorus. The manager
protested that there were voices enough,
and one of the singers was questioned
why he did not sing with more force.
he replied that G, the leader of the
senors didn't, and that if @ would not
sing out he was not inclined to strain
his troat to do the work of two. @ was
thereupon interviewed, and his answer
to the remonstrances of the manager
was:
II am paid summer wages, and I re-
fuse to sing in anything but my summe,
voice."
It was thought that singer who con.
,erned himself chiefly about the pre-
servation of his voice for the regular
season was hardly the man to lead in a
warm-weather troupe, and the engage
ment of G and his summer voice came
to speedy termination.
This is not unlike the story told OF
the girl who used to draw the jea17aesse
dOree to see her in the Mascot" kick
tambourine held at arms length over
her head. A young Harvard student
went to see the dance, and meeting on
the way out young lawyer who is
always well posted on the details of the
theatrical gossip of the town, expressed
his disappointment.
"She isn't near so much of high
kicker as I supposed" he said. "She
didn't hold that tambourine above her
shoulder"
"Oh, you can't Judge by this week."
was the reply. "She isn't kicking
much. The salaries are fortnight be-
hind, and she never kicks her darndest
u1less she's been paid a week in adj
vance,"
OF which the moral may be any one
of half a dozen things, but which at
least illustrates the advantage to the
management of not getting too far be-
mind with the weekly stipend of their
IN EXPLANATION.
Customer must say I don't like
this milk.
SMilkman-Why, what's the matter
with it?
"Just look at it. Don't you see that
it is blue ?"
well, yes; it is little darker than